The University of California, Berkeley, is facing intense backlash after a speaker with a terrorism conviction appeared at an event for Palestinian Political Prisoners Day.
Israa Jaabis, a failed suicide car bomber, was released from prison in November 2023 as part of a deal to return Israeli hostages taken in the October 7, 2023 attack. Jabis was convicted of trying to detonate a car bomb during a traffic stop in 2015. The incident occurred near an area where Israeli soldiers often gather and try to hitchhike. Jabis and an Israeli officer, Moshe Chen, were severely burned in the attack.
One of the organizers of the event, a student at UC Berkeley’s Justice for Palestine School of Law, posted Jabis’ message to students on Instagram.
“First of all I want to thank [the students] Because they are attentive and listen attentively. For many reasons, even their presence was enough to make us – as liberated Palestinian prisoners – feel that someone cared about us,” Jabis said, according to the video’s English-translated subtitles.
UC Berkeley under fire after anti-Israel group hosts failed suicide bomber as guest event speaker
The University of California, Berkeley, is facing backlash after a convicted car bomber attempted suicide at a student event.
(Getty Images)
UC Regent Jay Soares told Fox News Digital that the event featuring Giabis was “abhorrent and abhorrent.”
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“I think when you talk in the larger context of the University of California, I can tell you that as one of the few Jewish regents, I feel very good about the steps the administration has taken to curb anti-Semitism on campus. That being said, what happens across campus, across all college campuses, is that there is a group of people who promote, defend and glorify anti-Semitism,” Soares said.
Soares noted that the event was organized by Students for Justice in Palestine, a far-left, rabidly anti-Israel group that has been suspended or banned from several universities, including Columbia University, American University and Duke University. He added that the group promotes “anti-Zionist behavior” and said there is “no doubt that anti-Zionist rhetoric leads to anti-Semitism”.
“Under the First Amendment, these groups have a right to free speech. It’s just part of living in a country that has a First Amendment,” he said.
The University of California, Berkeley School of Law recently told Fox News Digital that its hands are tied when it comes to activities with Giabis.
“As a public university, UC Berkeley has a non-discretionary obligation to comply with and support the First Amendment in a fully content-neutral manner,” said Alex Shapiro, assistant dean for communications. “We have no legal ability to sanction or censor constitutionally protected speech.
“However, as UC Berkeley has repeatedly informed the student body, if any campus community member feels threatened, we encourage them to contact the Office to Prevent Harassment and Discrimination. OPHD provides support to those who have been harmed, investigates all allegations, and the campus will take appropriate action based on the results of any investigation.”
Palestinian woman Israa Jaabis, who spent eight years in an Israeli prison with severe burns, spoke about her captivity and freedom during the 3rd International Al-Aqsa Women’s Conference in Istanbul, Turkey, November 7, 2025.
UCLA student union condemns former Israeli hostage incident on campus
Sures recently made headlines when he blasted the UCLA Undergraduate Student Association Council (USAC) after it issued a letter condemning the activities of freed Israeli hostage Omer Shem Tov. In a letter widely circulated online, Soares said he was “disgusted and shocked” by USAC’s statement.
“While your letter expresses concern about the ‘troubling disregard for Palestinian life,’ it makes no mention of the loss of Israeli life on October 7, including the shooting to death of many of Omar’s close friends. Nor does your letter mention the countless rapes and massacres carried out by Hamas that day. It is as if none of this ever happened,” Soares wrote.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Shem Toff said the backlash against his appearance on campus reflects a broader reluctance to hear perspectives that challenge existing narratives.
UC regent Jay Sures told Fox News Digital that it was “disgusting and abhorrent” that a student group hosted a convicted failed car bomber.
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“If you are willing to silence a survivor who was imprisoned for 505 days to protect a preconceived narrative, then it’s worth the pause,” he said. “Some bias occurs when the worldview requires you to override your own values. What we want to change is the worldview – because those values are worth preserving.”
Fox News Digital reached out to UC Berkeley Students for Justice in Palestine for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Peter D’Abrosca contributed to this report.
Original source of the article: UC regent slams Berkeley event featuring failed suicide bomber as ‘disgusting and abhorrent’
